


Craft Day

by Witchhag



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Canon Relationships, Courtship, Drama & Romance, F/F, Gift Exchange, Gift Giving, Internal Conflict, Male-Female Friendship, amedot - Freeform, crafting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-10
Updated: 2016-04-10
Packaged: 2018-06-01 09:11:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,855
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6512224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Witchhag/pseuds/Witchhag
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peridot enlists Steven's help to make a gift for Amethyst on their craft day. The project, however, takes way longer than expected, and things soon go awry as the friends lose track of time.<br/>Will the two friends be able to work together to complete their project?<br/>Will a simple craft day teach Peridot more about friendship and emotion than she expected?<br/>Will Pearl ever stop being so salty? (Probably not.) </p><p>*Sweet fic that turned out to be way longer than planned about friendship and feels. Lots of Steven and Peridot friendship, cute/romantic amedot moments as well*</p>
            </blockquote>





	Craft Day

**Author's Note:**

> This story takes place after the episode Log date 7 15 2, but before the gems find Malachite.  
> I MAY eventually add some fan art/a storyboard type illustrations to this fic. *Not* sure yet. If any of these scenes inspire you to create anything, PLEASE share!

It was typical day at The Crystal Gem's temple. Garnet and Pearl were on the search for Malachite while Amethyst, Steven, and Peridot stayed behind.  
Steven was sitting in the middle of their living room with a pile of craft supplies. The pile's contents ranged from simple things like brightly colored construction paper, to wooden popsicle sticks, to variations of sparkly tubes of glitter glue. Steven was using the pink glitter glue to write the words "You're tops in my book." on what appeared to be a handmade bookmark.

Just as he was finishing, he heard the footsteps of Peridot walking up from behind him. "Steven? What are you doing on this "floor" ?" She asked.  
"Oh, hey Peridot! I'm just doing some crafting! Wanna join?" Steven asked her. He was just as enthusiastic and excitable as ever.  
"Crafting?" She inquired, visibily perplexed.  
"Yeah, it's where you take supplies and make stuff!" He explained.  
"Ah. So, it's a primitive form of engineering?" She asked, with one eyebrow raised and a hand on her chin which marked a sign of visible interest. "Uh, sure! You could say that. But it's really just for fun." Steven told her.  
"Oh." She said, slightly disappointed. "Is this another one of those meaningless earth rituals you humans seem to love?" She asked him.  
"Yep!" He replied. Peridot groaned. "Care to join?" Steven asked her once more.  
"I..uhm-"  
"Come on!" Steven interrupted. "It'll be fun! What else are you gonna do?"  
"Actually, I was going to continue my log on my recent experience with earth "Food" as well as "Eating." She explained to him. "Well, can it wait?" Steven asked.  
Peridot took a moment to mull the question over. "I suppose-"  
"I've got pipe cleanerssss!" Steven waved around a hand full of fuzzy pastel pipe cleaners in hopes of persuading Peridot. She stared blankly at the gesture. "Very well."

Peridot tentatively positioned herself on her knees and took a seat on the floor next to Steven.  
"So, what would you like to make?" Steven asked. Peridot looked around the pile of craft supplies in front of her. Where to even begin? She thought. She realized that she had no idea what most of these supplies even were. She turned to Steven in hopes of some clarity. "I-I don't know...What are you making?" She asked, squinting over at the small slice of construction paper in his hands.  
"I'm making a bookmark for Connie!" Steven told her. The bookmark was made from a beautiful Cyan color cut from a packet of special construction paper that Pearl gifted him for his birthday. On top of the bookmark were swirled edges drawn with pink glitter glue, a hole punched through the top for the special gold stringed tassels, and of course, a signature Steven pun in the center.

"What for?" Peridot asked. She was genuinely curious.  
"Because, she's my best friend and she loves reading!" Steven said with a wide grin across his round face.  
"And?"  
"And I want her to know that I care!" Steven revealed.  
"Hmm." Peridot sat on this information for a moment.  
Her eyes began to scan the supplies laid out in front of her.  
"Ah-Ha! Nyeh hehe." Peridot giggled to herself. She knew exactly what she was going to make. She snatched up a package of Popsicle sticks from the floor, a bottle of glue, and whatever else caught her eye.  
A few minutes passed, Steven soon became impressed by how invested Peridot had become in..whatever it was she was making. Peridot sat focused on her project. She reached furiously one second for the glue, another for the wooden Popsicle sticks, another for pipe cleaners, and once more for the colorful pom poms.  
Suddenly, a voice called out from behind Steven and Peridot.  
"Hey, Tweedle Stee and Tweedle Nerd." It was Amethyst. She stood with a wide grin on her face and her hands around her hips. "What're you guys up to?" She asked, ignoring the seemingly endless pile of craft goods in front of her.  
"It's craft day!" Steven informed her. "Since when?" She asked. "Since today." Steven said simply. "Peridot is crafting with me."  
Amethyst looked over at Peridot who had become completely and entirely focused on her craft project.  
Amethyst leaned over to her. "Whatcha making P dot?" She asked, with a mischievous grin planted on her face.  
It isn't until then that Peridot acknowledged or even became fully aware of Amethyst's presence. Peridot jolted up. "Don't look!" She yelled waving her arms in front of her to block Amethysts view.  
"It isn't in it's final stages of completion yet!"  
Amethyst shrugged, brushing off Peridot's dramatic antics. "Pfft. What is it anyway?" She asked.  
"It's..It's not for YOU to see right now!" Peridot continued to yell. This seemed to rub Amethyst the wrong way, as she furrowed her brow and frowned at the green gem.  
Steven could sense the tension between his friends start to arise, and chose to break it by interjecting with his own response "I think what Peridot means is that it's a surprise!" Amethyst raised an eyebrow. "Right, Peridot?" Steven asked. He looked over at Peridot in hopes that she would catch his cues.  
Peridot cleared her throat. "C-correct. A surprise." She replied. "A surprise? For who?" Amethyst asked. Both Amethyst and Steven looked at Peridot with piqued interest.  
"I'm not telling." Peridot said.  
"Ugh, no fair." Amethyst groaned, crossing her arms.

"Did you wanna craft with us too, Amethyst?" Steven asked.  
Before Peridot could react, Amethyst let out a loud tired yawn "Nah. I'm thinking of taking a cat nap." She said to Steven. Amethyst stretched both her arms out and began to shape shift into a cat.  
She nuzzled Steven, nearly knocking the bookmark he was making to the floor. "Hey, that tickles!" Steven giggled. "Be careful! You almost made me drop Connie's gift! It's still drying." Steven could never seem to understand the science behind how long it seemed to take for glitter glue to dry.

Amethyst then moved over to Peridot. Peridot gasped. She took her project and hid it behind her to keep Amethyst from seeing.  
"What is this creature that you're supposed to be?" Peridot asked. She had never seen one of these carbon based life forms before. It was small, and covered in fur which led Peridot to believe that it was non-threatening.  
Amethyst began to rub her face on Peridots chest. "I'm a cat, duh!" She told her.  
Amethyst purred, curling up in a ball on Peridots lap. "Isn't she cute?" Steven asked Peridot.  
Peridot's face grew hot as she looked down at Amethyst curled sweetly in her lap. She racked her brain trying to think of a way to change the subject.  
"Can you shape shift as well Steven?" Peridot asked him.  
Perfect. A completely topical question to prod a response, she thought.  
"Uh, well technically yes but also no." This answer confused Peridot.  
"What do you mean by yes and no?" She asked.  
"Well, because of the Gem part of me I can technically shift parts of my body but it doesn't seem to go very well. It's like the Gem side is a go and the human side is a no." Steven tried to put it in the simplest terms he could think of which just furthered Peridots confusion.  
"I see..." She didn't really see at all but she could imagine some parts of his explanation, if she tried hard enough.

During this exchange, Amethyst had moved from Peridots lap and began walking back and forth between Steven and Peridot. "Steven tries, but he'll never be as good a shape shifter as me!" She gloated, she began to swing her tail from side to side, inadvertently dipping it in an open can of blue craft paint. "She's not wrong." Steven said, agreeing with her.  
"Of course not! How could I be wrong when I'm the best?" Amethyst laughed, swishing her tail towards Peridot causing the paint to flick in her direction.  
"EEK!" Peridot squealed as she tried to dodge the incoming paint.  
Her attempt had failed and she was now speckled with blue paint.  
"I said to be careful, Amethyst!" Steven yelled.  
"My bad!" Amethyst said. "It was an accident!"  
"I'll go get a towel!" Steven told Peridot. He stood up from the floor and walked toward the kitchen.  
"I'll help clean up!" Amethyst bounced on top of Peridot and started licking the blue paint from Peridot's face. Peridot squirmed at Amethysts attempts at removing the paint, it flustered her so much that it almost caused her to fall back onto her project. Her face was now a deep shade of green, which would have been more obvious if it weren't for the blue freckles adorning her cheeks.  
She picked up Amethyst and placed her back onto the floor.  
"Did I get it all?" Amethyst asked. Steven came back in the room with a rag for Peridot.  
He leaned over to examine Peridots face. "Uhh, close enough." He said. "But if you want to get it all, I brought you this." Steven handed Peridot the cloth.  
Peridot groaned, wiping away the remaining paint and slobber. "What? Not a cat person?" Amethyst joked. It went unappreciated.

Amethyst shape shifted back into her regular form. Peridot tried composed herself before replying.  
"As entertaining as "Cats" seem to be, I must say, I think that I prefer your Amethyst form best."  
Amethyst grinned. Was that a compliment? Or just a fact? She wondered to herself but before she could ask Peridot spoke again.  
"That being said, will you please allow us to finish our respective works." Peridot asked. Amethyst rolled her eyes. Moment totally ruined, she thought.  
"Welp, if you crafters are that busy I'm gonna hit the hay. Lick ya later!" Amethyst snickered, sticking out her tongue at Peridot.  
Peridot felt herself begin to blush and quickly turned away.  
Steven waved goodbye to Amethyst as she walked to her room for her nap.

"Well, that was unnecessary." Peridot said. She pulled her project out from behind her to begin working on it again. "Geez. You really aren't a cat person are you?" Steven joked. It also went unappreciated.  
"She completely interfered with our-..what did you call it?" Peridot asked, squinting her eyes trying to remember the words he had used.  
"Craft day." Steven said.  
"Right...Craft day." Peridot was visibly shaken up. Whether it was truly from her loss of focus on completing her project, or if it had something to do with Amethyst licking the paint from her face it wasn't clear. One would be right to assume both.  
"It's okay, Peridot! You still have plenty of time to keep making..what are you making exactly?" Steven asked her for the first time.  
"Well, if you must know, it's a "gift" as you would call it." Peridot revealed.  
"A gift? Really?! For who?" Steven inquired. He was filled with excitement and wonder at the idea that Peridot would dedicate her time to making something for someone.  
"Erm. I'd rather not say." She told him.  
"C'mon! I won't tell." Steven prodded.  
Peridot rolled her eyes and groaned at the relentlessness of his interest.  
"Okay! If you won't say maybe I'll just guess..." Steven told her. His eyes began to shift back and forth around the room. "Hmm..." Steven was in deep thought.  
"Good luck." Peridot said sarcastically.  
The gift had to be for someone that Peridot knew, which Steven realized wasn't a very long list of people. They also had to be someone that Peridot liked enough to want to show her appreciation for. Steven narrowed down the list to a select few.

"Is it for..Pearl?" He whispered.  
"What? No!" Peridot yelled. Peridot had certainly come to respect Pearl since her stay on Earth, but perhaps not enough to physically symbolize that respect with a gift.  
"Is it for..Garnet?" Steven asked. Steven knew that Garnet and Peridot had gained a new understanding of one another, so the notion that she would give her a gift wasn't absurd. Well, not completely.  
"Negative." Peridot replied bluntly.  
Steven took another second to think before asking again. "Is it for-" He let out a gasp and pointed his index finger at himself. "Me?" He asked her, starry eyed and blushing.  
"Erm, no. Sorry." Peridot said sircerely.  
"Aw that's okay! Your friendship is enough for me." Steven said sweetly.  
"Are we about through with this game? Really. We're wasting valuable time and at this rate, we could be here until the evening." Peridot complained.  
"Just give me one more guess!" Steven begged.  
Peridot sighed. "Go on."  
"Okay. Is it for..." He looked around the room one more time, this time his eyes locked on the door to Amethysts room. "Amethyst?" He whispered.  
Peridot flinched at the mention of the name. It was a dead giveaway.  
"It is!! It's for Amethyst! Oh wow, that's so nice of you Peridot!" He told her, overjoyed at the thought of his two good friends bonding enough to exchange gifts.

"I don't know why I didn't guess Amethyst to begin with! I mean, you two are such good friends now. Of course it was for her!" Steven exclaimed.  
"W-well, I..." Peridot stammered. "Yes. It is nice." She said, after clearing her throat.  
Peridot attempted to play it cool, but Steven could see right through her.  
"Aw don't be embarrassed! I think that's really neat that you're making her something! Just think back to when you first got here, you two didn't get along at all- well honestly no one really got along- BUT now look at you!" Steven rambled on gleefully.  
Peridots eyes went wide as she tried to conceal a blush and force down a creeping smile.  
"Shh! You would do well to not scream these things as I'm trying to keep a low profile." Peridot whispered.  
"Oh right!" Steven whispered back. "What sort of gift is it?" He asked her.  
"A bookmark." Peridot said confidently. "No ways! You made a bookmark too?"  
Peridot moved her project in front of Steven where he could have a clear view of it's craftsmanship.  
"Yep." Peridot confirmed. Steven looked down at the pile of mixed matched craft supplies stacked on one another, all held together with an enormous amount of glue placed in front of him.  
"That's a pretty big bookmark." Is all that he could manage. A drop of sweat escaped from his brow.  
"Should it have been smaller?" Peridot asked him. Her eyes fell down to the floor where her craft project sat proudly in front of them.  
"Well, usually bookmarks are made to lay inside books." Steven explained as tactfully as possible.  
"Oh." Peridot said. "Perhaps this particular bookmark will be of use inside of a larger scaled book?"  
"Maaaybe. But books that big are typically pretty heavy. It might get crushed." Steven explained. Steven knew how excited Peridot was about what she had created, but he was stuck between wanting to be honest and wanting to spare her feelings.  
Peridot pondered his response. "I suppose a re-scale could be arranged." She said, reaching a seemingly logical conclusion.  
"Yeahhhh...But see, another thing I didn't mention is that bookmarks are usually flat."  
"But mine isn't flat." Peridot stated. "No, it's not. It is nice though! It's just...not quite a bookmark." Steven finally said, trying to break it to her easy.

 

  
"This information could have been useful _before_ I began working on this project." Peridot blurted out, glaring in Steven's direction. Steven laughed nervously to himself to mask his discomfort.  
"Sorry! I didn't realize you were going to make a bookmark too. I would have been glad to give you advice!"  
" **BLAST IT**!" Peridot yelled kicking her makeshift "bookmark" to the side. "WHAT am I supposed to do now?" She screamed. She was furious, she had spent all of that time thinking she was making a "bookmark" for Amethyst, when really what she was making was a tower of trash. "Hey, hey, hey! No need to get upset! We have all day, right? We'll just figure something else out. Besides, Amethyst doesn't really read books anyway, so maybe it's a good thing we get to start over!" Steven patted Peridot on the back to comfort her.  
"Oh. Well, I suppose I can agree with your assessment." Peridot told him. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Where do we start?" She asked.  
"Well, if it's a gift for Amethyst, it should be something she'll like, right?" He asked Peridot.  
"Right..."  
"And maybe it should have something to do with an activity she likes!" Steven continued.  
"Okay." Peridot was beginning to follow his train of thought.  
" _Annnnnd_ -"  
"And it should serve a totally functional purpose." Peridot interjected.  
"So, what's something that Amethyst would like and use?" Steven asked. The question was directed at himself as much as it was to Peridot.  
The two of them both gave themselves a moment to think about the question.  
What's something that Amethyst would like? Steven thought to himself, his face squinched as he pondered what Peridot could make for her.  
On the opposite end, Peridot was asking herself the same question.  
What would Amethyst like, that's useful, and enjoyable? She wondered.  
  
"A-HA!" They both shouted. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Steven looked to Peridot.  
"I don't know? I'm not a mind reader." Peridot took it literally.  
Steven leaned closer to Peridot and whispered into her ear, whatever he said caused her face to light up.

-A few moments later.  
"I can't believe we thought of the same thing!" Peridot marveled. She walked carrying a lump of purple clay to the center of the floor where the two were working.  
"Really? I'm not!" Steven said. He held out his arms to take the clay from Peridot.  
"Why is that?" She asked, placing the lump in his hands relieving herself of it's density. Her small arms could only take so much.  
"We both spend a lot of time with Amethyst. It makes sense we'd know what she likes!" Steven said with a wide smile.  
Peridot blushed at the implication that she spends "A lot" of time with Amethyst. Although the boy wasn't wrong. "I suppose that's true..." She admitted. "Do you think she'll really like the gift?" Peridot asked, her voice uncertain and not as confident as it usually was.  
"Of course I do! It's gonna be awesome!" Steven replied.  
"But its so..handmade."  
"That's the whole point!" Steven told her.  
"What do you mean?" Peridot questioned.  
"When you take the time to make something for someone, it shows how much you really care about them. It's not about what it looks like, it's about what it makes the person getting the gift feel like!" Steven explained to her.  
Peridot seemed to be caught off guard by this explanation. Could such complex feelings really be conveyed through such a simple gesture? She took a moment to reflect on Steven's words.

The two continued to work on Peridot's new gift for Amethyst, but seemed to lose track of time.  
The afternoon sun set into the evening sky when Steven finally looked over at the clock.  
Time for a break, Steven thought. "Hey, I'm gonna get something to drink. You want anything?" He asked Peridot, who hadn't stopped working since they began.  
"No thank you. My previous experience with earthly sustenance is not one I wish to relive." She told Steven in a monotone. "Okie dokie." Steven got up and went to the kitchen to fetch himself a juice box from the fridge. While up, Steven peeked through the living room blinds and saw that the sun was about to set.  
"We've been crafting awhile. You sure you don't wanna take a little break?" Steven asked Peridot.

"Are breaks a requirement for this leisure activity?" Peridot asked, peeking her Dorito shaped head from their project. "No." Steven replied. Peridot carried on with her task.  
-Steven finished his juice box. The sun was completely set now, the sky a darker shade of blue but Peridot was still not satisfied with her progress. A part of Steven wanted to ask her to let herself take a break but another part was completely fascinated with her determination. "It's looking really great Peridot! When do you think you'll be finished?" Steven asked her. "Whenever it's done." She replied, giving zero reference or estimate of time. "It's just that it's getting kind of late-" Steven was telling Peridot, but just as he began, the warp pad lit up. Pearl and Garnet had returned home from their mission. Steven gasped rushing to the warp pad to greet them. "Hi Garnet! Hi Pearl!" He said gleefully. He was always so excited to see them whenever any of the Crystal Gems came home after a long day (or night) of protecting the planet. Garnet tussled his curly locks with her hand. "Hello Steven." She said.

"How was your mission?"Steven asked them. "Still no sign of Malachite." Garnet told him, crossing her arms. Pearl let out a sigh. You could see how exhausted the two gems were from the looks on their faces. Not just physically exhausted, but emotionally.  
"Aw! I hope that you find her soon." Steven said, a deep frown appeared on his face. His mind wandered to the last time that he saw Lapis. He wondered how she was, was she scared? Was she still fused with Jasper? He couldn't imagine what she was going through and didn't want to frankly because of how upset it still made him.

Pearl and Garnet stepped down from the warp pad. "Don't worry, Steven." Garnet said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her. It's just taking longer than we'd hoped." Steven put his faith into Garnet's words. He looked to Pearl, whom gave him an approving smile.  
"Now, If you need me, I'll be in my room. I need some time alone." Garnet said.  
"But you're never alone." Steven said, referencing Ruby and Sapphire.  
Garnet smiled. "You know what I mean. We just need some time to think." Garnet said. "Are you sure, Garnet?" Pearl asked. Garnet nodded. She turned to the door that lit up to let her into her room.

"Is Garnet okay?" Steven asked, his voice filled with concern. "It's just been a long day. She'll be alright though." Pearl told him.

  
"What have you been up to today, Steven?" She asked. She had left Steven in Amethyst and Peridots care for the day.  
"I've been crafting with Peridot!" Steven pointed to the small green gem still hunched over on the floor of the living room. Steven rushed over to her. "Pearl and Garnet are back!" He shouted, to get her attention.  
"They're back already? But it's only-" Peridot lifted her head to look up at the clock which read "7:34 PM"  
"Oh my stars! Have we been working on this ALL DAY?" She shrieked.  
"Well, it is called craft day." Steven snickered.  
"I've got to get this finished! Amethyst will be awake any minute!" Peridot squirmed. How could she have allowed this project to get so drawn out? She asked herself.  
She diverted her attention back to the nearly completed DIY.  
Pearl walked behind Steven to see what exactly Peridot was working on.  
"Um, what's this?" Pearl asked. She looked around the floor of the room at the mess the two had created for her to clean up. Steven motioned for Pearl to kneel down so he could whisper something into her ear. "Peridot is making a gift for Amethyst." Steven whispered. "Ohh. Well, that is very nice of you, Peridot!" Pearl said with a smile, attempting to be supportive.  
"It won't matter how nice it is if I don't finish it!" Peridot groaned angrily. She was starting to panic.  
"Um. Where is Amethyst anyway?" Pearl asked, looking around the living room.  
"She's in her room taking a nap." Steven told her.  
"A nap?" Pearl rolled her eyes. Why am I surprised? She asked herself. "So much for her watching you today." Pearl groaned.  
"It's okay! Peridot's done a great job by herself!" Steven said smiling down at the green gem. "I see." Pearl replied, as salty as ever.

"Annnnnnnd FINISHED!" Peridot exclaimed. She jumped to her feet with her hands on her hips. VICTORY! She declared to herself.  
"Oh wow it looks great Peridot!" Steven told her. He was so proud of his friend, her perseverance seemed to have finally paid off.  
"It is rather impressive, isn't it." Peridot said.  
"So..wha-what is it?" Pearl asked. "It's a..."  
Peridot leaned down to the floor to retrieve the object. "BOWL!" She declared, holding a Purple clay bowl up in the air for the big reveal.  
(YES, SHE TOOK AN ENTIRE AFTERNOON TO MAKE A BOWL)

All three friends looked up at the completed project, which was perfectly shaped by Peridot, and perfectly thought out by the collective minds of Steven and Peridot.  
The color was beautiful shade of violet, almost identical to Amethyst's skin. Along the sides of the bowl were small engravings, all forming a whimsical pattern, which Peridot designed herself. At the very bottom of the bowl, were the words "To the best gem" written in black paint, signifying it was for Amethyst.

"It certainly is. Good work, Peridot." Pearl said simply. "Can I ask, why a bowl?" Pearl inquired.  
"You may." Peridot cleared her throat. "Well, after much deliberation, Both I and Steven concluded that Amethyst's gift should be something both functional and..." Peridot looked to Steven. "Something she'd like!" Steven included. "Yes. Something she would like. So, we used some of her favorite activities as an outline. One of those favorite activities being, eating. Thus, a bowl was the perfect gift." Peridot finished.

"It really is great, Peridot!" Steven smiled.  
Peridot turned to her friend "Thank you for your contributions, Steven." Steven replied with a tight hug. Peridot let out a yelp but didn't seem to protest. "You're welcome! I can't wait for you to give it to Amethyst!" He squealed. Peridot blushed, with her project completed she was finally content. All of that hard work would pay off soon when she got to deliver the gift to Amethyst. Peridot sighed a sigh of relief and triumph at the thought.  
"Well I'm sure she'll get a lot of use of it." Pearl said. Peridot nodded.

"Now we just have to bake it!" Steven said.  
"Bake it?" Peridot asked confused.  
"Yeah! You have to put it into the oven to harden it. That's how it works!" Steven explained to Peridot. Peridot groaned internally. It seemed that there was even more to go through before her work was finally done.  
"Oh well, put it in!! Let's bake it!" Peridot demanded  
"Uh uh. What did we talk about, Peridot?"  
Peridot scowled. She wondered how many times her patience would be tried this evening. "Manners." Steven reminded her.  
Peridot placed the purple bowl down onto the kitchen counter. She crossed her arms and let out a deep sigh. "May I please use your thermally charged metal unit to heat my clay based object?" She asked, as politely as possible.

"You may." Steven said, taking the bowl from the counter. He began to walk towards the oven when Pearl stopped him.  
"Nuh uh uh." Pearl said, waving her index finger back and forth. "You aren't allowed to use the oven by yourself." She told him.  
"Oh yeah...Will you please bake this bowl for us, Pearl?" Steven asked, giving her the puppy dog eyes, a sure fire way to get his way.  
Pearl looked down at the desperate display.  
"Yes." She said.

Steven handed Pearl the bowl as Peridot observed their interaction.  
"Please, be careful with that. It took all day to complete." Peridot told Pearl.  
"I'll be careful." Pearl said, reassuringly.  
-Pearl preheated the oven and placed the clay bowl inside on a stainless steel baking sheet.  
"Now what?" Peridot asked. Peridot had spent all day working on this gift, exhausting herself, all she wanted for it was to be done and now she would have to wait for Gem knows how long.

Steven shrugged his shoulders. "Now we wait, I guess." He said.  
Both Steven and Peridot folded their arms and stood with their back turned to the oven to wait for the bowl to finish baking.  
"Uh, are you both just going to stand there the whole time?" Pearl asked.  
"Well yeah, what else are we gonna do?" Steven asked her.  
"Well, you could start by picking up all of the art supplies that you used today off of the floor." Pearl told him, stepping over an opened bottle of paste that they had used earlier that day. Ordinarily, Pearl would have no problem cleaning up after Steven but on occasion she had to hold him responsible for his messes.

"Oh yeah. Heh. Come on, Peridot! Let's clean up." Steven walked to the center of the living room and began picking up the various art supplies. "Oh, me as well?" Peridot asked. Pearl just gave her a nod. Peridot knew better than to argue by now, and at this point in her day, she didn't have the energy for it frankly.

Both Steven and Peridot started to pick up the many scattered craft supplies from the floor, stuffing them into a large plastic container.  
After their chore was completed, they shuffled up the stairs and placed the container into Steven's closet. "Oh Steven, while you're up there, maybe you could straighten up your room?" Pearl sang up the stairs. Steven sighed. "What do you say, you wanna help me clean up in here?" Steven asked Peridot.  
"Not really." Peridot said. Subtlety was not one of her strong suites.  
"Come on! Please? It'll help pass the time. Once we're finished with this, the bowl will be done and you can give it to Amethyst!" Steven told her. He tried to frame the idea as positively as he could. Peridot groaned. What else am I going to do? She thought.  
"Alright. Let's get started."

The two friends decided their first task would be to start organizing some of Steven's laundry. Steven hung his clean clothes up in his closet while Peridot was in charge of sorting the clothes on the floor from clean to dirty. She picked up one the socks from Steven's floor and began examining it. Visual clues to it's condition were not enough, so she chose to smell it to see if it was clean. She grimaced at the discovery that it indeed wasn't.

After they finished sorting Steven's clothes, Steven and Peridot moved on to tidying up the floor, which was covered in Steven's toys. Peridot looked around the room, her eyes stopping at what she viewed as junk laying about the floor. "Do humans really need all of these possessions in order to feel fulfilled?" She asked. "I don't know. I just like playing with them." Steven replied, he knelt down and picked up one of his action figures. It was his favorite. He held it up to show Peridot. "Isn't he cool?" Steven asked. Peridot glared down at the small plastic figurine. It looked like some sort of fantasy character with yellow pointy hair that stood straight up. Peridot began to wonder the science behind this gravity defying feature but decided to let it be. She really didn't have the energy after all of the work she had put into Amethysts gift.

"Oh you wanna see something really cool?" Steven asked Peridot. He rushed to the side of his bed and pulled out the drawer underneath.  
"Aren't we supposed to be sorting this heap of makeshift silicone?" Peridot asked him. She sounded annoyed and looked a bit exasperated.  
"Yeah but it can wait!" Steven told her. "You'll really like this, I promise."  
Peridot doubted the statement.  
"Oh come on where is it..." Steven mumbled rifling through the drawer. Peridot watched his attempt to find the mystery object. She crossed her arms and began tapping her right foot awaiting his discovery.  
"I could have sworn it was-OH here it is!" Steven exclaimed. What he pulled out from the drawer was a cartridge, more specifically a video game titled "A Heroes Journey". It was an old school video game with low resolution and poor graphics by present times standards, but a classic nonetheless. "What is that?" Peridot asked. "It's one of my favorite games! It's about a Knight who works for his King but when he finds out the King has become corrupted, he leaves the Kings court and risks his life to save the Kingdom." Steven explained. Peridot seemed to empathize with this "Knight" in A Heroes Journey, despite lacking any real knowledge on video games as a whole. "Are you going to play it?" She asked Steven.  
"Oh I've played it before. But YOU should!" Steven's eyes became brighter, sparkling almost. "Me?" Peridot pointed to herself. "Sure! I could teach you!" Steven told her.

"I don't know...Don't we have to finish cleaning?" Peridot asked him. "Well, yeah but we can do that afterward! We'll do both. We'll play for a few minutes and then we'll get back to work. Deal?" Steven held out his hand. Peridots eyes shifted down to the video game cartridge, then to the messy floor. She took a breath. "Deal." She said, shaking Steven's hand.

  
Steven and Peridot parked themselves in front of Steven's television. He plugged in the bulky outdated console, and blew into the cartirdge before placing it inside. This disgusted Peridot as she imagined all of the spit getting trapped inside.  
"It takes a minute." Steven told her. They waited patiently in front of a blank screen until it flashed on. The TV blasted a catchy theme song as the words " **A Heroes Journey** " written in bold yellow letters blinked across the screen.  
"Ready?" Steven asked Peridot. Peridot nodded. She looked down at the controller she held in her hands. "Start." She pressed.

  
Peridot hadn't expected to, but she soon became totally entranced with the game and..she was actually good at it. Like, really good.  
It wasn't long until Peridot reached her first boss, which she defeated with 2 hearts remaining.  
This won't take to complete at all, she thought.

  
It was 2 hours into the game but Peridot had finally done it, she had reached the final boss, the King himself. The King's Sprite was bigger than her own Knights, and his health had 5 extra hearts than hers. Still, Peridot was confident that she would be able to beat him, as long as she stayed focused.  
Once the Kings monologue was finished, the fight was ready to begin.  
"Are you ready, Peridot?" Steven asked. "I'm ready."  
Peridot pressed start. She managed to dodge The Kings first attack, but failed the second time causing her to lose half a heart.  
Peridot began to analyze her opponents movements and was soon able to predict when he would attack. After just a short while, Peridot had gotten the King down to his final life, she struck him once more with her sword, a fatal blow she thought. But what she couldn't predict was that he would transform into any entirely different form.  
"What is this?!" Peridot screamed. "I don't know! I've never gotten this far before!" Steven told her. "WHAT? But I thought you'd played this already?!"  
"Yeah but I've never beaten the game before!" Steven said.  
  
Peridot stared panicked at the screen for a moment. The Kings final form was a bat like monster, he was a dark blue color with large jagged wings and glowing yellow eyes.  
"You're no match for me!" The creature yelled at her Knight. This made Peridot even more angry. "Oh yeah? We'll see about that!" Peridot had 3 full hearts left and was determined to make them count. The bats movements were quicker, his attacks less predictable, but Peridot did not let the unpredictability of his movements keep her from completing this battle. Peridot jumped from pillar to pillar, dodging the monsters attack as best she could, and strategically striking the bat until she was able to get his health down low enough for the her to plan her final attack.  
"Just one more shot..." She mumbled. She watched furiously until the bat was just where she wanted him "NOW!" She yelled, she pressed the jump button and her Knight landed in front of the bat to take him do-  
"OH MYYYYYY GOODNESSSS." Steven and Peridot heard someone yell from downstairs.  
"Oh dear..." The voice moaned. It sounded like it was coming from the kitchen.  
"Pause it!" Steven yelled.  
"Pause?" Peridot asked, they hadn't gone over the pause button as the two of them had been playing nonstop.  
Before Steven could even point to which button, Peridots knight was taken out by the bat.  
"WHAT? NoNoNoNoooo!" She shrieked.  
  
Steven leaped up from the floor, and peaked down the steps to see what the yelling was about. "What's going on?" Steven shouted.  
"I-I don't know what happened." Pearl told him. Steven rushed down the stairs to see what Pearl had meant.  
"Oh no..." Steven frowned. Peridot soon climbed down the steps following Steven.  
"Alright, what could be so important that our game had to interrupted?! I was just about to defeat the final boss! WHAT on earth justifies this kind of response?" Peridot demanded to know.  
Pearl and Steven exchanged a concerned look. "Something happened with the bowl..." Steven started. Peridot eyes went wide, her attention focused from the game to Stevens alarming statement. "What? Tell me!" Peridot said. They didn't know how to tell her so they thought it best just to show her.  
"I'm sorry, Peridot." Pearl said, she showed Peridot the metal baking sheet which displayed the now half melted purple clay bowl which Peridot had worked so hard to make.  
Peridot stared blankly at the clay bowl, which just further worried Pearl and Steven. "Peridot?" Steven called softly. "Are you okay?" He asked.  
Peridot pulled the bowl from the cookie sheet. "What. Happened?" She asked, her voice completely monotone. "It would appear that it..melted while in the oven." Pearl said. " _I see."_  
Peridot walked quietly to the other side of the kitchen, lifted open the trash can, and plopped the clay bowl inside. "If you'll excuse me." Peridot said. Peridot opened the front door to the porch, shutting it politely behind her.  
Steven and Pearl just looked at one another, they had no idea what to make of the situation nor Peridots reaction. "Do we go after her?" Pearl asked.  
They fixed their eyes on the front door.  
"ARGGHHHHHHHHH!!" They heard Peridot scream from outside.  
"I think we better leave her be for now." Steven said.  
  
  
Just then, the temple door began to light up. Amethyst emerged from her room, she was finally finished with her "cat nap".  
"Hey Steveo! Hey Pearl! Whatcha two doin?" She asked.  
"Amethyst!!" Steven yelled.  
"Uh, yeah?" She replied. Amethyst stretched out her arms and let out a small yawn.  
"Should we tell her?" Steven looked to Pearl for an answer.  
"Tell me what?" Amethyst asked.  
Pearl sighed. She walked to the trash and pulled out the small purple clay bowl.

  
- _Meanwhile, outside with Peridot._  
Peridot paced back and forth around the front porch, mumbling incoherently to herself. She was in a full blown rage. "After  ALL of that work It's completely ruined! **HOW** could this have happened? This is my fault. I shouldn't have let myself get so distracted by that wretched video game!" Her train of thought was going 1000 miles an hour inside her head, her emotions completely ruling her. She had to calm down. She stopped mid step and took a deep breath. Then another breath, in and out, she guided herself. Her last deep breath turned into a deep sigh. Peridot took a seat on the floor of the porch. She realized now what she was feeling wasn't just anger, but total failure. All that she wanted to do was something nice for Amethyst, and one miscalculation had ruined all of it. Now, Amethyst would never receive her gift. She would never know how much work or thought that Peridot had put into it, and worst of all, Peridot would never get to see the expression on Amethyst face when she presented it to her.

  
"Hey, Peridot." A small voice called out from behind her. It was Steven. He placed his kind hand on her shoulder.  
"If this is what gift giving is like, I don't think I'll ever attempt it again." Peridot said.  
"Don't say that. You tried really hard. I'm proud of you, you should be too." Steven said. Peridot said nothing back. "Listen, I know you might not wanna hear this but I told Amethyst what you did." Steven said.  
Peridots head whipped around. "You did WHAT?" She asked him, her cheeks were bright red but she wasn't angry so much as embarrassed.  
"Just talk to her, Peridot." Steven said.  
"I don't think so." Peridot didn't actually have to think about it, she knew she'd be avoiding the purple gem for the rest of the evening if she had her way.  
"Well, okay. Just listen then because she's right here and she wants to talk to you." Steven said, walking back into the house.  
Peridot began to tremble. She wrapped her arms around her legs as she sat hunched over near the railing of the porch. It wasn't a second later that she heard Amethyst walk up from behind her.  
  
"Hey." Amethyst said softly.  
"Hey..." Peridot said in a hushed tone. She was so quiet, and had made herself so small. All that she wanted was to disappear.  
Amethyst knelt down and sat beside her. Peridot wondered if Amethyst had expected her to speak but even if she wanted to, she wasn't sure what might escape her.  
"So, Steven and Pearl told me what you did for me today." Amethyst started. Peridot frowned. What I failed at doing, she thought.  
"I just wanted you to know, I really appreciate it." Amethyst said. Peridots head perked up, she looked over at Amethyst who sat to her right, with what remained of the purple clay bowl in her hands.  
"I know you worked really hard on this. I just thought you should know...I really like it."  
"You..you do?" Peridot couldn't believe what she had just heard.  
Amethyst looked back at her. Much to Peridots surprise, Amethyst didn't look disappointed or upset, but happy. Amethyst grinned at Peridot.  
  
"Yeah! I _mean_ \- I think it's really cool how you took the time to actually make me something, all on your own!" Amethyst said.  
"Steven did contribute a small portion to the thought process of its design." Peridot said.  
Amethyst looked down at the purple bowl, tracing the delicate carvings with her fingertips. It really was a beautiful design.  
"No ones ever really made anything for me before." Amethyst told her. Her voice was low and raspy.  
"Really? I find that hard to believe" Peridot said.  
Great, her first handmade gift and it's ruined! Peridot thought.  
"Well it's true! That's why this is so..special. Honestly, I would have never expected it either." Amethyst said, tucking a lock of her long white hair behind her ear.  
This response confused Peridot. How could anything that resembled what she had made be considered special? She had to correct Amethysts assessment.  
"But it looks-"  
"It looks great." Amethyst told Peridot. She looked straight into Peridots bright green eyes.  
Peridot didn't know what to say.  
"Besides, it doesn't matter how it looks. You made it for me, that's what really matters to me." Amethyst told her, putting her hand over Peridots.  
"Thank you." She said.  
Peridots face became beat red.  
"Y-you're welcome." Peridot managed. The two smiled at one another.

  
Peridot still wasn't sure if she fully understood the emotional effect of gift giving, but she believed that she was starting to, thanks to Amethyst.  
"Aw man. Now I have to get you a gift!" Amethyst said.  
"That's not necessary." Peridot told her.  
"But that's how it works! You give me something, I give you something" Amethyst explained.  
"Oh. Well, if it's customary for an equal exchange then I suppose that would be..nice." Peridot admitted. It might be nice after all of Peridots effort to receive some sort of compensation, she thought. Although Amethysts response to the gift she made may have been just enough.  
Amethyst grinned. "Hmm. What could I give to you..." She mulled it over.  
Peridot looked at the purple gem curiously.  
"I know!" Amethyst snapped her fingers.  
"What?" Peridot asked her.  
"Shut your eyes" Amethyst told her.  
"Why?" Asked Peridot.  
"Just do it!" Amethyst ordered.  
Peridot although confused, did as she was told, she closed her eyes.

"No peeking!" Amethyst told her.  
"I'll peek if I want t-" Peridot began but the feeling of Amethysts lips on hers interrupted her. Peridot couldn't help but open her eyes, her expression nothing less than shocked. It took her a second to realize what exactly was happening.  
Amethyst is..kissing me? Peridot reflected on the realization. This is just like In Camp Pining Hearts, she thought. Should I stop this? She wondered. But it's feels..good, and it's with Amethyst, her thought continued. It would be rude not to reciprocate the gesture.  
Peridot let go, she shut her eyes and melted into the kiss.

  
The kiss between them only lasted a few more seconds but in that time Peridot had gotten completely lost in the moment, so much so that when Amethyst pulled away, Peridot failed to realize it and stayed seated with her eyes closed and her mouth wide open. Amethyst giggled at the sight.  
When Peridot finally realized that their kiss was over, she began to blink herself back to the present moment. She saw Amethyst sitting in front of her, her cheeks flushed and her brow furrowed as she stared back at Peridot. Peridot had never seen Amethyst like this before, so vulnerable, so beautiful...  
Peridot cleared her throat. "Thank you." She said.  
"Heh. You don't have to thank me you nerd." Amethyst laughed, giving Peridot a playful nudge.  
"But it was a gift, wasn't it?" Peridot asked.  
"I guess so." Amethyst said.  
"So, now I have to return the favor?" Peridot inquired.  
"Uh, well. Sure, I mean if you want to." Amethyst scratched the back of her head. She couldn't imagine what other sort of gift peridot had in store for her.  
"I want to." Peridot said. Peridot scooted closer to Amethyst, who starred at the green gem in wonder at what she was doing.  
Peridot lifted her hands to Amethysts face and drew it slowly closer to her own.  
"I really want to." Peridot told her as she leaned in slowly and pressed her lips against Amethysts.  
Amethysts face was a dark purple now, she wasn't expecting this, the gift, the kiss, or the way that she felt.  
Amethyst wasn't expecting any of it but that seemed to be what made it so special. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for sticking to the end! I hope you enjoyed this little fic (just kidding I know it's long). I've never written any fan fiction before so go easy on me! I just fell in love with the world of Steven Universe and ship Peridot and Amethyst like nobodies business, so I hope that I was able to do the characters justice.


End file.
